Chapter 87 - 81: Commemorating the Loyal and Unwavering Bond Between Master and Disciple

Not long ago Xiaowen apologized to him, and now Song Luping was also apologizing, which made Lin Li feel a little embarrassed. What virtues or abilities do I have to deserve such great favor? It’s me who should apologize to you. But Lin Li chose not to reply for the moment. He didn’t know what to say, so he pretended to still be at the station, waiting for his parents to pick him up. Lin Li, like Bai Bufan, had something urgent to deal with. He decided to have a remote ranking match with Bai Bufan. ... [Get up diligently before 5:00 AM for a month to practice the Body Refining Eighth Rank Technique for at least half an hour before 7:00 AM (2/30).] Lin Li didn’t go downstairs today. Since it was the weekend, he practiced in his pajamas at home, took a shower, and went back to sleep—it was more convenient that way. When he got up again, it was almost noon. His phone was full of incense messages from Song Luping, which he had intermittently sent until three or four in the morning, hoping to see him alive or his corpse if dead. Thinking it was about time, he didn’t want to run into Song Luping by chance when he went out for a meal—meeting Song Luping frequently proved they shared a special fate. That would make it hard to explain why he hadn’t replied to his messages. So Lin Li composed a message and sent it: "Lin Li: Brother Ping, I just got out of the station. Meh, because it’s the second time I was caught, I was symbolically detained for a night and couldn’t reply in time, sorry." "Lin Li: Brother Ping, you have nothing to apologize for. This has nothing to do with you. It’s just that my luck was too bad, happened to collide with misfortune. The heavens are toying with me, sigh, why am I treated so unfairly by the boundless heavens?" Song Luping didn’t reply immediately; perhaps he was asleep. By the time he replied, Lin Li had already finished his dinner. "Song Luping: Just woke up, you scared me to death. I thought you were going to be detained for fifteen days. If that were true, I couldn’t bear the guilt. Can you take a call?" "Song Luping initiated a voice call." Lin Li answered it. "Hey, Brother Ping." "Ah, Bufan, hearing your voice makes my heart settle a lot. I was so worried and guilty last night, thinking about you all the time, even during the act." Lin Li: "?" Don’t think of me during those times! "Thanks for your concern, Brother..." Lin Li said with some fear. "Now that you’re out, I am not worried anymore." "But, Bufan, I’m really curious and puzzled about how those cops managed to find us. Didn’t the informants we set up internally and on the street work at all? Bufan, as someone who experienced it firsthand, do you have any clue? Although everyone from Tianhong is in, I asked our informant. He said even when Tianhong was all taken down, he didn’t notice anything unusual. That useless insider only realized Tianhong had been swept up when he saw his former subordinates reunite with him one by one." Song Luping truly couldn’t figure this out. So, Lin Li didn’t think there was an issue with informants still being able to contact the outside—no penalties or interviews were made to maintain the confidentiality of the source of this information, and the informants still had the same movement restrictions as before. Naturally, they could still maintain normal contact. "I really don’t have any idea how they did it." Lin Li lied through his teeth. "Magic rises a foot, the Dao rises ten lengths, alas, the damage is done now, pondering this further is useless. Are you okay, Bufan?" Song Luping asked concernedly. "I’m already home, what could possibly go wrong?" Lin Li shrugged. "No, no, I’m not talking about physical issues, but your mindset about this bugging incident. To be honest, your level of misfortune is unprecedented in my life. Out twice and caught twice, with less than a week’s gap between them. I’ve been caught twice in my life, and you’ve already caught up with me at such a young age. You’re indeed a promising candidate to become the King of Solicitation, outstanding in every aspect. I’m afraid this event might greatly impact your Dao heart." Song Luping marveled sincerely. The definition of a promising candidate can sometimes be rather wide. Lin Li immediately laughed and said, "Don’t worry, Brother Ping, small setbacks can’t defeat me. As the saying goes, things never happen more than three times, and people won’t always be unlucky. I’m not losing my heart of seeking the Dao because of this. On the contrary, I think these two catches actually provided me with very rich and valuable reference experience. I will learn from them, correct my mistakes, and be better prepared before the next action. What doesn’t kill me will only make me stronger! My Dao heart has become even stronger because of this!" The task wasn’t completed yet, so how could he lose his heart of seeking the Dao? "Good, very spirited, that’s the spirit and attitude a promising candidate I set my sights on should have!" Song Luping excitedly slapped his thigh. His judgment was right; he had not picked the wrong person. Bai Bufan was even better than he imagined, the more he interacted with him, the more he could truly feel it. Recognizing and deciding to pass his knowledge onto Bai Bufan was undoubtedly the most correct decision he ever made in this life, so Song Luping extended an invitation to Lin Li: "Bufan, how about going to Jiangnan Stories with me later for some entertainment?" Lin Li liked one of his lines: "Huh?" Anything mentioned from Song Luping’s mouth couldn’t be good, and this so-called Jiangnan Stories was just another brothel. What shocked Lin Li was that Song Luping even chose to visit there at this time? "Brother, what did you say?" As if he couldn’t believe his ears, Lin Li asked. "After eating, I’ll go to Jiangnan Stories for a small expense. Do you want to join? If yes, tell me your address, and I’ll come to pick you up. Together, we brothers can conquer anything." Song Luping repeated. Then hesitated for a moment and added, "This time I’ll reimburse you two hundred. Don’t find it too little, Brother can only scrape this much from meal money, I’ve done my best." It was evident that Song Luping truly felt guilty about his arrest. He was indeed a very responsible and committed man. But Lin Li still slowly tapped out a question mark, feeling puzzled from the bottom of his heart. "But Brother Ping, Tianhong was just busted yesterday, you dare to go today? Aren’t you afraid of being caught?" "This is the experience gap between you and me." Song Luping modestly shook his head, "Precisely because it has been investigated, now is the best time to go." "First, if you check past data, with your own database, you will find that large anti-prostitution operations are like thunderstorms, eliminating multiple brothels in a short time, while smaller operations target only one. After an operation, there will be a gap before the next. Why? Simply because once other owners hear the news, they will immediately mind their own business. They also know that after news spreads, there will be no harvest outside for a while, and they will relax some ’vigilance’. But this period is indefinite, and today is just the second day after Tianhong’s sweep, barely 24 hours. Even if they stay alert, their people inside are busy handling Tianhong’s employees’ trials, leaving no time to spare for other brothels? They are in a blind spot at the moment! As loyal patrons trusted by the brothels, when should we take action if not now? This is the safest time, I have verified this theory several times successfully, with satisfactory endings. I also went last Saturday and Sunday." Indeed, Song Luping could justify anything he said with seemingly reasonable logic. "Besides, Bufan, these consecutive two-week anti-prostitution operations have indeed plunged Xiling into an abyss, making this perhaps the darkest September for the brothels. They no longer dare to receive new clients. But precisely because of this, we, aspirational and ambitious patrons, should step up! Commissioned during crisis, appointed amid dire straits, this is what we should do! A gambling dad, a disabled mom, a schooling younger brother, a shattered her. If neither you nor I patronize, what will happen to them? This is a responsibility we should bear, and if we cower now, how are we different from those useless ones!?" "So, Bufan, come along. I pledge with all my lifelong integrity and ’reputation’ that the cops will not act today. If you come with me, it will definitely be safe!" "Come on, Bufan, come on!" Though they were on a call, Lin Li felt like he could see Song Luping bathed in pure golden divine light, reaching out a big hand toward him.